girl's name
Mariah
muh-RY-uh
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 120,774
the United States
#448
2025 births
Mariah shows the sharpest single-artist effect in our data. American births ran 399 in 1989, 1,103 in 1990 when Mariah Carey's debut album appeared, and 5,201 in 1991 — a thirteen-fold rise in two years.
- Mariah is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1996, when 5,454 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,784 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Mariah over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 222 |
| 1890s | 256 |
| 1900s | 213 |
| 1910s | 308 |
| 1920s | 275 |
| 1930s | 187 |
| 1940s | 137 |
| 1950s | 115 |
| 1960s | 154 |
| 1970s | 1,671 |
| 1980s | 3,599 |
| 1990s | 44,684 |
| 2000s | 35,740 |
| 2010s | 22,520 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,198 |
What Mariah means
Mariah carries Mary's meaning, which has never been established. Bitterness, beloved and wished-for child are all proposed for the Hebrew Miriam, and none of them is settled.
Where Mariah comes from
Mariah is an older English pronunciation of Maria, in which the second vowel was said to rhyme with eye rather than with see — the same shift that gave Sophia and Sophiah, and that survives in the phrase they call the wind Maria. It descends from Mary, and so from the Hebrew Miriam, whose derivation has never been established despite centuries of proposals. The spelling had almost fallen out of use by the twentieth century and was revived entirely by one singer.
Mariah in use
The Mariah Carey effect is the sharpest we have measured. American births ran 399 in 1989, then 1,103 in 1990 — her debut album appeared that June — then 5,201 in 1991, and the name held above 4,000 for the rest of the decade before peaking at 5,454 in 1996. That is a thirteen-fold rise in two years, steeper than the eight-fold jump Marlene Dietrich produced. It now ranks 448th in the United States on 693 births, 1191st in England and Wales on 28 and 2292nd in France, across 120,774 lifetime births.
How popular is Mariah?
In 2025, Mariah was given to 693 babies in the United States, ranking #448 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Mariah is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Mariah
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Mariah also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Mariah over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Mariah
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Mariah in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Arabic
- Maria
- Catalan
- Maria
- Danish
- Maria
- Dutch
- Maria
- German
- Maria
- Greek
- Maria
- Italian
- Maria
- Japanese
- Maria
- Latin
- Maria
- Polish
- Maria
- Portuguese
- Maria
- Romanian
- Maria
- Swedish
- Maria
- Welsh
- Moriah
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Mariyah
Sibling names for Mariah
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Mariah — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Mariah
What does the name Mariah mean?
Not known. It carries Mary's meaning, and Mary's own derivation has never been established.
Did Mariah Carey make the name popular?
Emphatically. Births went from 399 in 1989 to 5,201 in 1991 — a thirteen-fold rise, the sharpest single-artist effect in our data.
Why is it pronounced muh-RY-uh?
An older English pronunciation of Maria, with the second vowel rhyming with eye. The same shift survives in they call the wind Maria.
How popular is Mariah?
448th in the United States, down from a 1996 peak of 5,454 births.
Is Mariah a girl's or a boy's name?
Mariah is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Mariah?
Mariah has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Mariah?
Mariah is usually shortened to Mari.
Is Mariah a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Mariah currently ranks #448 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.